A chemical RFQ that lists product names and quantities buys the cheapest interpretation of those names. Production chemicals are performance goods: two drums with the same generic label can differ by an order of magnitude in field result. Write the RFQ so that performance, not nomenclature, is what is being priced.
Specify the duty, not the product
- Produced-water analysis and expected variation across the term.
- Temperature, pressure and residence time at the injection point.
- Target performance — for scale, the minimum inhibitor concentration at stated saturation index.
- Compatibility constraints with other chemicals already in the system.
For scale programmes, that duty statement comes out of modelling rather than history; our scale prediction software is used to generate the saturation and MIC basis that the RFQ then quotes against.
Fix the evaluation weighting before bids open
Publish the technical/commercial split and the sub-criteria. Evaluation weights invented after bids arrive are the most common source of tender disputes, and the easiest to avoid.
Control clarifications
One channel, one register, all answers issued to all bidders. Verbal clarifications create asymmetry that surfaces later as a claim.
Require sampling and acceptance terms in the bid
State how each batch will be accepted: CoA parameters, retained sample handling, and what happens on a failed lot. If acceptance is not in the tender, it becomes a negotiation during a shutdown.
Qualify before you evaluate
Technical evaluation of an unqualified bidder wastes the committee's time. Run the supplier qualification checklist first, and resolve identity and standing questions through independent verification — TradLoc.com covers that supplier, buyer and consultant check — before the technical pack is opened.
Give bidders a document format
Prescribe the response structure: commercial sheet, compliance matrix, technical annex, HSE annex. Suppliers producing those from a structured document platform such as DocMak.com return comparable packs, which shortens evaluation measurably. The structure itself is covered in structuring a technical proposal.